Copyright © 2018 by Wil C. Fry.
Some rights reserved.
Author: Michael P. Kube-McDowell
Year: 1996 (mine is 1997 paperback)
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Publisher: Bantam Spectra
ISBN 0-553-57275-X (paperback)
Trilogy’s Wikipedia page
Author’s Wikipedia page
Summary
Concluding the “Black Fleet Crisis” trilogy, Tyrant’s Test takes place 12 years after the film Return Of The Jedi, in a galaxy dominated by the New Republic, which has risen from the ranks of the Rebel Alliance and is built on the ashes of the Empire. It includes characters familiar to even casual Star Wars fans like myself: Leia Organa (president of the New Republic), Luke Skywalker, Han Solo (husband of Leia and father to Leia’s three children), Lando Calrissian, the droids, and Admiral Ackbar.
Unfortunately, this book doesn’t stand alone; it doesn’t backtrack at all to explain the threads begun in the first two books. Its purpose in the trilogy is to tie together threads that were loosened in the previous two books. The New Republic is on the brink of war with the Yeventhans, Solo is their prisoner, Chewbacca is on a mission to rescue Solo, Calrissian and the droids are trapped in an empty ship of alien design, Organa struggles to maintain her position, and Skywalker is on a personal journey. Kube-McDowell brings all these threads to a fascinating conclusion.
What I Liked Least About It
I’m of the increasingly unpopular opinion that novels — even those that are part of trilogies — should stand under their own weight. This one doesn’t. This one is like the new trend in TV series, where nothing is resolved at the end of the season and the story simply continues into the next season. This one does conclude the story, but it doesn’t introduce it, so the reader is lost for at least half the book, forced to make assumptions that are never confirmed or denied in this book.
Secondly, since I’ve already seen the newest Star Wars movies, I began to wonder while reading this book whether it’s considered canon. Because in the movie The Force Awakens (Episode VII), Han and Leia mention only one child: Ben Solo (later Kylo Ren), but in this book, Han and Leia have three children: Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin (and no Ben). Since the book takes place approximately halfway between Return Of The Jedi and The Force Awakens, Ben should at least have been born by now.
So I searched online and learned that this story was originally considered canon — part of the “Expanded Universe”, but was dumped along with all other books in 2014. All the books once considered canon along with the movies are now part of the “Legends” universe. This happened when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and didn’t want to be “constrained” by the many stories and accumulated facts. This was disappointing to me, and it certainly removes any desire to read any other older Star Wars books.
What I Liked Most About It
As space operas/sagas go, Star Wars has been one of the most enduring — and possibly the most lucrative, so it should suffice to say that I enjoy Star Wars stories. I’ve known these characters since I was a child and have read about and watched them onscreen for about 40 years.
Aside from the sequel issue that I mentioned above, the book was well-written, imaginative, and interesting.
Conclusion
If you weren’t already aware of the canon issue, take this as a warning before reading any older Star Wars books: anything before 2012 that wasn’t a movie is very likely not considered canon and therefore might not fit into the same universe as “official” canon material.
Otherwise, if you’re even a casual fan of the saga, I think you’d enjoy this book.
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